Minor



@uiten gieten @stent Hitt.

.lOl-l N W. hl lNOll AND DAVID l. WARD, 0F NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN THREE-WHEELED VEHICLE.

T0 ALL WllOM IT MAY CONCERN:

De i t known that we, JOHN W. Minor. and DAVID P. WARD, of New Bedford, in the countyot' `Bristohand State oi' llassiwhasctts, here invented a new and useful Improvement in Three-WheeledVehicles; and we do hereby declare that the following is a i'ull, clear, and exact description thereof', which will enable those skilled l` in the art to make and use the saine, reference beingl had te the accompanying drawings forming part ot' this specification.

This `invention relates te improvements in wheeled vehicles, and it has more particular reference to those vehicles which are used for the transportation of `heavy burdens, as trucks or drays'; and` it consists `in the peculiar arrangement of a third or guiding; wheel te the forwardend ot the said vehicle:-1,`,as` will hereinafter be` more fully described.

Figure 1 is atop or plan view of a vehicle with our improvement attached.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section o? fig. l, through' the line .er zr, showing the third wheel, and the i wanner in which it is attached.

Similar letters ci' reference indicate corresponding` parts.

.-l represents the body of a dray, formed in thc ordinary manner, with the axle and rear wheels attached` as i is usual with that class ot' vehicles. B represents the rear wheels. For the purpose of dropping the botloim` l ll retaining the .wheels of snit-ablel l diameter, thc axle may he bent or dropped down 'for the bottom ot' the dray to rest onthereby facilitating the. i loading and unloading ot' the""dray. Vehicles ot' this description miist be so constructed` that they may beu, i` turned round within a s-,ace not greater than `their own length. Inn four-wheeled or`two-ho`rse dray,`this` cannot be dene without raising the body ot the dray high enough for the forward wheels to pass under the To ovcrcomethis didicultyas regardsthis1 i class'ot` vehicles-is our object in the present invention, as well as to furnish a` cheaper, safer, and more con- I Vvcnicnt vehicle for other purposes. To the forward end of the dray, or supported by the forward portion of., Il the frame, we have a section of a. hollow cylinder, C, with a. broad flange on its upper edge or rim, which is g marked D. 'lhe cylinder or ilanged ring C is fastened to thc frame or body'of the dray by thisilangepassecnw in lig. 1. Within this section of a cylinder, C, there is another section of a cylinder marked E,`with twoplates on its upper edge, which extend inward toward the centre, marked a a. flhespaec `between these plates is` occupied by a wheel marked F. e c are the boxes on the plates a It, which support the gudgeons or arbor on which the wheel revolves. The two sections of cylinders C "and E tit together, so that E is allowed to revolve.. freely within C. It is confined in C by stop plat-es on the bottom of the frame, (one of which is seen at d, iig. 7 on which it may rest, and by the flange D on G, which projects inward, thus forming alip whichv prevents it of the dray as near the surface oi' thc ground hs may be desirable, and sti bottom, which renders them inconvenient for loading heavy goods.

horses may be attached to the plates in a similar manner. AIt will be seen that by this arrangement, the team attached to this vehicle can turn in either direction, without any cramping, andwithout any danger of upsetting, i and that the vehicle can bcturncd round in a space of its own length, while its body or bottom may be kept as. f

near the surface of the ground as may he desired for facilitating the loading and unloading of heavy freight.

The arbor of the wheel F may he connected with springs in such a. manner that itwill be relieved of any `sudden jolt or concussion in passing over rough places, if desired.

We do not broadly claim the application of the third wheel to velziic'les, as we are aware tliatthey have beenV having thus deseribedour invention, what we ,claim :is new, Aand desire to secure by Lettersl i.

-used before, but Patent, is-A 1. Ther-sections of cylinders C nndrE, one revolvingci,` within the other, substantially as` and for the purposes i herein shown and described.v

2. We claim the flange D projecting from the rim of the cylindcr,`for fastening on the ontside, and formingi a lip on its inner side, substantially as described.

U- section of a cylinder, which hasi'rec ho'rizontalmotion,substantially as described.

JOHN` W. MINOR, DAVID l?. WARD.: x

Witnesses:

A'rwoon IIoLMEs, Cms. Dn WOLF.

from rising. In this position, and confined in this manner, it, with the wheel F, is allowed to make an `entire` revolution if desired. Gr represents thc shafts or thills, (where a single hot-seis used,).which are attached i, directly to the plates a a of E, as seen in the drawing. v It will of course beunderstood that a. pole for two.

9 We claim the wheel F attached to a three-wheeled vehicle, when 'the said wheel is attached to a horizontal l 

